


The Beginning

by Deannie



Category: Illicit Miracles
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-15
Updated: 2013-07-15
Packaged: 2017-12-20 07:01:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/884329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Deannie/pseuds/Deannie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Seth is just a mild-mannered computer geek, and Nick is... well... hotter than he should be. So what the hell does Nick need with Seth, anyway?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> For those of you who don’t know it, _[Illicit Miracles](http://illicitmiracles.keenspace.com)_ is a manga written by Emilie Renee Karr. It’s vastly wonderful and should be read by all peoples, both far and wide! Honestly, fantastic manga. READ IT!
> 
> *ahem* Anyway, I got to talking to Emilie, and from our discussions and the manga itself came this fic about the meeting of two of the main characters: Seth and Nick.

There are people who sort of... confirm your view of yourself. Smart people you know you’re smarter than, strong people who prove you’re weak... guys who make you _know_ you’re gay. That last one, I’ve got a doozy for. His name is Nick. I’m not sure what his last name is--or even if he _has_ a last name. Someone as hot as he is... doesn’t really need a surname to distinguish himself, does he? 

It’s not like I didn’t know this about myself when I was younger. It’s just that... well, I figure someday I’ll either find someone, or I’ll just live out my life a sad old bachelor. Thank God I’m not a girl--then I’d become one of those creepy cat ladies. I thought college would be easier, somehow. Like I’d suddenly just burst out gay all over and find the perfect guy. 

Someone like Nick, in fact. 

I’m halfway across the quad when I see him. Again. Too gorgeous, with long black hair--impossibly shiny--and the strangest, hottest eyes. Almost gold. Like... I don’t know. Like a cat’s eyes. He’s tall and thin and has this air of perfectness about him. I don’t know where he lives or what classes he’s taking (or teaching?), but I seem to be seeing him a lot lately. 

“Seth?” 

Oh God. He knows me. How does _he_ know _me_? 

“Um... yeah.” Oh good. Very smooth. 

He smiles at my sparkling repartee. “I’m Nick.” Yep. Just Nick. His voice is smoky and rich, but he doesn’t sound _hopelessly_ perfect. “I heard from a few of the guys at the computer lab that you’re into Linux?” He says the word like it’s some sort of foreign language. 

I shrug, relaxing. This is okay. _This_ I can do. “Sure do. Did you need some help getting into it?” Or, you know, into _me_? 

His head drops just a little, but he looks up through his hair at me and... _Damn!_ Just stop it, Seth. Right the fuck now. 

“I actually need a little help getting _out_ of it,” he admits, ushering me forward. I pretty much follow him. Hell, he could be leading me into Boston’s darkest alley and I’d go with a smile on my face. “Everyone has been talking about how much better than Windows it is, and I thought it would be good to set it up on my laptop, but now...” 

I try not to laugh. Rookie’s mistake. Somehow that chink in his perfection makes him more sexy, not less. “Not quite how you planned it, huh?” 

He turns to me, stopping us both in the middle of the quad, and flashes those gold eyes. “Not exactly, no.” Is it me, or is it hot out here? “So I was wondering...?” 

It takes me a long minute to pick up the ball. “Oh! Oh, yeah... I could, you know, take a look at it, if you want me to.” Suave: not just a cheap shampoo. 

Nick smiles again, and I stop breathing. But only for a minute, because I need the breath to keep up with him as he strides across campus. “It’s up in my room,” he explains, heading for Hinley Dorms. 

His room? Oh, shit! He’s inviting me up to his _room_? 

I must have stumbled at the thought, because he’s suddenly turning back to look at me. “Seth?” There’s a gentle lilt to his voice, like an accent you can’t quite place. “Are you okay?” 

I avoid that gaze that holds a little too much amusement and pick up the pace. “Sure, I’m fine.” I’m fine. A drop-dead gorgeous guy is inviting me up to his room, so I’m fine. 

Right? 

* * * 

His room is... creepily clean. Neat, orderly. I wonder if he demanded a single because he’d never find someone as neat as he is to room with. 

He’s got one of those new lighter laptops--the one I couldn’t afford. Looking down at me with those eyes of his, he smiles. And I’m gone. 

“Do you want to have a look?” he asks, the lilt in his voice making me wonder what he wants me to have a look _at_. He’s got one of those soft, deep voices--the kind that makes me glad he’s offering me a seat before my knees give out. 

I clear my throat, fighting down a heated blush, and take that offered seat at his pristine desk. “Um... sure.” Get into the code, Seth. Don’t worry about the guy next to you--the one who’s giving you shivers as he leans over your shoulder--just feel the code... 

“I messed it up pretty good, didn’t I?” he mutters after a long few minutes. 

Not really--I mean, if you’re a four-year-old. 

“It’s not bad.” Or not irretrievable, anyway. “I think you’re going to have to dump the system, though.” I look up at him. Is it me, or are his ears really pointed? _Really_ pointed. Funny I never noticed that when I was staring at him across the cafeteria, huh? “You do have your files backed up, right?” 

He clears his throat and smiles, almost sheepishly. Is it legal for him to look that good? 

Seth the Compumagician to the rescue. “It’s no problem. I have a zip drive in my room.” Shit. See, this can only lead to me inviting him to _my_ pit of a dorm room, right? “I mean, I can go get it, and we can download your files to that.” 

He smiles again, and I can’t seriously tell if it’s relief or something else. All I know is that I want this computer repair to take a long, _long_ time. 

“Well, it _is_ a laptop,” he points out. “We could just take it over there.” Before I’ve cleaned up!? “I don’t want you to have to go to any trouble for me.” 

Oh, but I’d go to all _kinds_ of trouble for you, Nick. Something makes me _really_ want to say that out loud. 

Mostly because something in his eyes says I should. 

“It’s no trouble,” I settle on instead. Safer this way. Keep the balls in his court. The _ball_ , Seth. Keep the _ball_ in his court. “I’ll be right back.” 

And so I make my escape. As quickly as possible. 

But I _will_ be back. Something about him is... irresistible. Like he snared me. Like I’m caught up in some spell... 

But it’s only a computer, right? That’s all. He’s just a Joe who doesn’t know Linux from spandex, and heard I was good at fixing laptops. 

So why, I ask you, does it feel like this could be the start of a beautiful friendship? 

* * *

 _The End_


End file.
